Taylor believes that Rooney needs to be playing as a centre-forward to get him back to his very best, despite Hodgson's defence of the Manchester United man.

"This business of asking him to play wide, I'm not too certain it's working," Taylor told BBC Radio 5 Live. "From a personal point of view, I would like to see him playing in that centre-forward position because I think that's where you get the best out of him.

"Asking him to come out wide, it gives me the impression at times that he doesn't like that and he's not into that.

"I'm not in any way, shape or form telling Roy who to select, but for me it's a little bit worrying seeing his performances at the moment. They're not of the Wayne Rooney type that we know."